Black Souls

There are no heroes in Black Souls, a layered, robustly believable look at the reach and consequences of criminality. Based on Anime Nere, the novel by Gioacchino Criaco, it's set predominantly in Africo, Calabria - an area of Italy controlled by the Mafia-like 'Ndrangheta. Francesco Munzi's third movie homes in on three siblings: mid-level drug trafficker Marco Leonardi; corrupt money man Peppino Mazzotta; and their elder brother (the excellent Fabrizio Ferracane), a seemingly pious goat-herd trying to keep his hothead son (Giuseppe Fumo) on the straight and narrow. It recalls Animal Kingdom in its realistic depiction of a criminal clan in freefall and, if its remote location and revenge theme give it the feel of a western, it forgoes the associated swagger (and that of traditional gangster films) for something more prosaic. The focus moves fluidly around the key players, enriching the story, while the action is unflashy but precision-staged. The restrained, never-less-than-riveting approach allows Munzi to deliver an ending of formidable impact.